San Diego mayor orders end to city war on marijuana dispensaries

(Reuters) - San Diego Mayor Bob Filner declared an end on Thursday to the city's legal war on medical pot with a letter to city authorities ordering civil prosecutors to "stop the crackdown on marijuana dispensaries."

Filner, a Democrat who was sworn in December 1, said in the letter sent to the police chief, city attorney and the city's Neighborhood Code Compliance Department that such shops could still be scrutinized for other code violations like any other business.

"Until we have a new set of regulations for medical marijuana distribution, I have asked the Neighborhood Code Compliance Department and the Police Department to temporarily halt all prosecutions of city zoning code violations when it comes to medical marijuana dispensaries," Filner said in a statement.

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The announcement signals a sea change in dispensary prosecutions in California's second largest city, with a population of 1.3 million. In 2011, the city attorney launched code enforcement action lawsuits against more than 100 medical marijuana dispensaries and shut most of them down.

In possibly the first verdict of its kind, a federal judge has allowed the world's largest medical pot club to keep selling the federally illegal drug. The stunning court victory occurred Monday when Harborside Health Center won the right to remain open while it fights federal forfeiture proceedings in the coming months. US Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James ruled in favor of the club, denying two motions for preliminary injunctions from Harborside's landlords that would have forced an end to medical cannabis sales at the dispensary's Oakland and San Jose locations.